The Merchant's Daughters
by Saiyaness28
Summary: When Louis Bissette dares to steal from the Beast he must lose that which he holds most dear. His children. His daughters, Helene, Cecile and Renee are forced to live with the hideous Beast for one year. At the end of that year, two will be returned, but the third, the Beast will keep as his wife.
1. Chapter 1

**The Merchant's Daughters**

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Chapter One

Louis Bissette meandered through his humble house, drifting silently from room to room as he restlessly checked on each of his children. Louis, a merchant by trade, was a devoted father and he worried endlessly for their wellbeing. This nightly vigil was his routine. Each night, a few moments after midnight, he carefully left his bed and looked into each of his daughters' bedrooms. Although he'd never had a son, he'd been blessed with three beautiful daughters, each of them charming in their own unique way. The eldest daughter, Helene was fiery and curious to a fault. Sometimes, they hadn't the foggiest idea where she was. When she returned she would have grand tales of adventure to tell at dinner. Everyone always looked forward to her stories, even if half of it was made up. The middle daughter, Cecile, was witty and practical to the point of insanity. She always had to be doing something useful, even if it wasn't at all necessary. One spring in particular, she brought it on herself to make each of the women in the family a new dress, despite the fact that Louis had many, higher quality gowns that he could have simply given them. Renee, the youngest of the three, was meek and studious. She spent much of her time reading and pouring through classic tales, the histories of distant lands and philosophy alike. As a result, she was as sharp as a tack and could engage any scholar in brilliant debate.

Louis sighed with relief each time he saw their innocent, sleeping faces, blissfully unaware of how troubled his own sleep was. Louis battled a lifelong night terror that woke him into fits of screaming nearly nightly. In the dream, he was running down a stone stair case. The path before him was lit, but blackness rushed at him from behind. It reached for him with sharp claws, ready to tear him apart. Once his children were born, they replaced him in the nightmare. Now it was his daughters that the darkness reached for. They who it wished to devour.

He stood a moment in the silent shadows of Renee's room, smiling as he pet her mahogany curls. It was silly really, his believing that a monster would come and take his children from him. They were always quite fine and they lived a simple life. They certainly weren't in any danger from monsters. He had told himself this many a night, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that the dream was a bad omen. Perhaps it was a warning that misfortune was to befall them. That hungry darkness could very well be a metaphor for death. He shuttered at the very thought of having to burry one his girls. There was little doubt in his mind that he wouldn't survive such a loss.

"Father?" Louis heard Cecile's strong voice. He turned slightly to find her standing in the doorway, her hands on her hips as she frowned at him. "What are you doing? You should be in bed. You know you must rise early in the morning."

Louis smiled at his middle daughter, feeling like he was being scolded by his mother. His wife had died several years prior, when the girls were very young. Usually, it was the eldest that stepped up as a motherly figure for the younger children, but that was certainly not the case in his household. Helene was too restless to bother with mothering, so it was the dutiful Cecile that filled those shoes. "I was merely checking on all of you. You know how I worry." He said. Leaving, his youngest's bedside, he followed Cecile back out into the hall.

"I haven't the foggiest idea what you think will happen to us. Are the pillows going to spring to life and try to smother us?" asked Cecile, impatiently batting away a knot of curls that didn't want to stay out of her face.

"You'll understand once you have your own children, Cecile. Everything worries you, even those suspicious pillows." The old man chuckled.

Cecile stopped by the door of her bedroom. Her shoulders slumped and a long breath escaped her lips with a sigh. "Was it the dream again?" She asked. Unlike her other sisters, Cecile was a light sleeper and had long ago noticed her father's frantic screams in the night and his fright driven vigil. Many a night she had laid in her bed, pretending to be fast asleep while her father pet her hair and leant over her to be sure she was still breathing.

"You know about the dream." Louis smirked. He should have known that one of them would figure it out eventually. Though admittedly, he had always believed that it would be Renee who would bring it up first, she being the most intelligent of the girls.

Cecile nodded, "I've begun to have nightmares too. Renee and Helene have complained of it as well. I believe all three of us are having the exact same dream."

Louis' eyes widened in surprise. His hands balled into fists at his sides. The thought of his children suffering through such terror made his stomach twist painfully. "Are you running down a stair case, being chased by a living darkness?" He asked, wondering if it were not all of them that were sharing the dream.

"No," she shook her head sadly, her dark blue eyes watching him almost sheepishly. It was not an expression that Louis was used to seeing on Cecile's face. "It is not us that are being chased. It's you." She said. There was a long pause as if she were considering whether or not to continue. "And you do not escape. The darkness always devours you at the end and we all wake up crying in grief."

Louis mulled over this in his mind. In his own dream, the darkness never touched the girls. They run and they scream in terror, but the shadows never grab them, never even come close. Yet, in the girls' dreams it is he that is being chased and it ends with his demise. Perhaps the dream was a warning of _his _death, rather than that of one of his children. Death will come for him and grief will threaten to devour all that he leaves behind, but in the end they will escape its clutches and get on with their lives. As sad and horrible as it was, Louis felt somehow relieved. It was natural for a parent to die before their children not the other way around. The death of a young person, who had not yet truly lived, was always far sadder.

"We do not all have it nightly, like you do. It comes to us in rounds. It first comes to Helene, then to me and finally Renee. Tonight was my turn, thus why I am awake. Tomorrow, it will be Renee that wakes with tears running down her face." Cecile groaned in exasperation as more tears rolled down each cheek. She wiped them away hurriedly on the sleeve of her nightdress. "What do you think it means, Father? Is something terrible going to happen?"

"I wish I knew, Cecile." He said calmly. He gently took her in his arms and hugged her. She clutched at the soft fabric of his robe and, feeling like a silly child, wiped her eyes on his shoulder. "Do not fret, child. It was only a dream. Dreams don't always mean anything. And even if it is a bad omen, you are all strong enough to get through whatever hardship comes."

"We're scared of losing you, Father." Cecile muttered into his shoulder.

Louis felt tears threatening to come. They stung his eyes and welled upon his lashes. He pet his daughter's hair soothingly, gently running his fingers through her messy dark auburn curls. "I'm afraid to lose you too." He said quietly.

The family went about the following day as usual. Cecile and her father's discussion seemed to be wholly forgotten. The Bissette patriarch sat before the warm hearth, busily going through some important paper work. He was preparing for another long trading venture in which he would be traveling to several port towns to the east of them. He would be gone for at least three weeks and there were several things that needed to be put in order before he left, not the least of which were his taxes.

"Renee, put that book away. Help me with the dishes. You can read later." Cecile ordered her younger sister. Even at such an early hour, Cecile looked as flustered as a mother with eight children. She had already swept the floors of all the rooms, mended Helene's stockings, cooked a hardy breakfast for them all and was half way through a pile of dishes. Her feverish hands showed no signs of stilling any time soon. They wouldn't stop until her head hit the pillow that night.

Renee did not argue with her sister. She admired Cecile's remarkable work ethic, but worried about her overdoing it. She half expected her to drop dead of exhaustion one of these days. She marked her place in her poetry book with a pretty blue ribbon and set it aside. Then she rolled up her sleeves and joined Cecile at the sink. Renee and Cecile were a remarkable contrast to one another both in looks and disposition. Renee was arguably the prettiest sister. She had very fair skin, silvery eyes and very dark brown hair that curled in soft ringlets about her angular face and cascaded down her back, clear past her waist. A real pity it was that she usually wore it pulled up simply. She was very quiet and had a peaceful air about her. It took a great deal to get any sort of reaction out of her. The same could not be said for Cecile who made a point of speaking her mind when something displeased her, even at the cost of being rude. Cecile was not as delicately framed as Renee. Her build was more sturdy and strong from years of laboring around the house. She was very pretty with her strong jaw, dark blue eyes and bow shaped lips. However, Cecile paid little mind to her appearance. Her hair was usually twisted into a long braid and she hid its lovely reddish-brown color beneath a handkerchief most days while she cleaned.

"Where is Helene?" asked Cecile as she handed a bowl to Renee to dry.

"Why are you asking me?" replied Renee with a shrug. "You know I have no clue. Helene never tells anyone what she's doing."

Cecile shook her head angrily. "I swear that is the laziest girl I've ever met in my life. She's always gallivanting about, having fun while we're slaving away. Is it too much to ask that she help from time to time?"

"I know." Renee couldn't help but laugh. They had this same conversation every day. "It's horribly unfair. I know how deeply you want to go racing with the Aristae boys. It must fill you with envy watching Helene chase after them on her stallion with her dress hiked up and hair flying wild. I can just imagine you doing the same. I'm sure you'd love it."

"Sarcasm does not befit a lady, little sister." Cecile smirked and bonked Renee on her head with a freshly washed wooden spoon.

Renee laughed as she wiped soap from her hair with a fresh towel. "But Cecile, what in the world would you do if you allowed yourself to have free time? Books bore you and you're certainly not going to go adventuring with Helene."

Cecile blushed slightly, "I could…sew or something."

"That's your problem. You're always working. Even your hobby is a form of work." She pat her older sister's hand reassuringly. "Face it dear, you have a problem." Her pretty grey eyes twinkled as she grinned. "Perhaps Helene should introduce you to one of her male friends. That could very well get your mind off of chores."

Cecile splashed Renee with soapy water, soaking the front of her dress and making her squeal. "Don't be absurd. What use do I have for a husband when I have you and Helene to raise?"

Renee pat at her dress with her towel in an attempt to dry it. She was still smiling. The fierce blushing that had spread over Cecile's face had betrayed her. "Helene and I can manage ourselves. Don't you want to be married?"

"Not especially, no. Whether I do or whether I don't makes little difference to me. I'm happy with the way things are. I'm in no rush to change it. What about you?" Cecile asked, occupying herself with the dishes once more.

Renee's pale cheeks turned rosy. She shyly brushed at a loose curl, tucking it behind her ear. "I'd love to be married." She admitted. "I've read so many stories about romance, about loves that endure great trials and even overcome death. I envy the people in those stories. They make it seem so easy to fall in love."

"Have a man in mind?" Cecile bumped Renee's shoulder playfully. She was a little concerned. Cecile was only fifteen and in her mind was still much too young to be thinking of such things. Still, she wasn't about to squash her innocent musings of a fairy tale prince.

Renee's blush darkened. "Oh no! No one!" She assured her. "Ideally, I'd like to my husband to be someone who loves reading and learning as much as I do and who admires my ability. Most men aren't like that though." She had often tried to talk about literature and philosophy with the men that attended the soirées that their father often threw. Usually they either laughed at her or tuned her out while they admired her cleavage.

"Well, I'm sure that you'll meet the right person someday." Cecile kissed the top of her head. "Don't be in too much of a rush."

Renee and Cecile smiled lovingly at one another. "I won't be. Unlike you and Helene, I know how to be patient." Renee lightly laughed as she dried another bowl and put it in its rightful place.

Helene could smell dinner being prepared when she returned home. She'd been gone all day, racing horses and picking wild berries up in the hills with the Aristae boys. Mud splattered the hem of her dress and caked her sensible shoes. There was grass stuck in her windblown honey brown hair. Dirt was smudged on her porcelain cheek. She looked like those boys had dragged her behind the horse.

"I'm back!" Helene announced as she tromped into the house. Poor Cecile, who was still on her hands and knees, scrubbing the floor, growled with dismay at the tracks she left behind on her clean floor.

"Wash up. Dinner's almost ready." said Renee. Cecile had grown impatient with her and had put her on cooking duty while she finished cleaning. Now she sat on a stool by a boiling pot with her nose once again in her poetry book.

Helene kicked off her shoes, tossed her shawl over the back of a chair and skipped towards her father. Cecile glowered at her from the kitchen floor and Renee hurried back to her side to calm her down before she threw something heavy at their eldest sister.

Helene of course was completely oblivious. She hugged her father and sat next to him on the couch. "I beat Jean in our race today!" She exclaimed proudly. She was so excited. Jean Aristae was the fastest rider she knew and she had never beaten him before.

"That's marvelous, Helene!" Louis congratulated her. "What did Jean have to say about that?"

"Oh, he wasn't happy at all." Helene laughed. "He kept saying I cheated and he used a lot of very naughty words. I've never heard him talk like that, but apparently he can curse like a sailor."

Louis laughed heartily. He'd never heard the boy talk like that either, but he supposed he had tried his best to put up a proper illusion of himself whenever they spoke, since he was currently trying to get Louis' permission to marry Helene. Helene had all three brothers pining for her hand, but she hadn't seemed to have noticed their affections quite yet. For her, their relationship hadn't changed a bit since they were toddlers. She still saw them as little scabby kneed boys, rather than the strapping young men that they were.

"He challenged me to another race tomorrow afternoon and I'm going to beat him again then too." Helene boasted, grinning from ear to ear.

"Helene, come help us clean this floor before I strangle you!" Celene shouted from the kitchen.

Helene apologized over and over again while Celene kept shouting at her and Renee tried her best to pacify her. All the while, their father sat and watched them, content with his life and hopeful that he would have many more years to enjoy it.

The family gathered that night around the table to enjoy one last meal as a family before Louis left for his trip. They ate happily as they listened to Helene's story about her victory over Jean. She of course flourished it a bit. She claimed that Jean led most the race and that she had won by commanding her horse to leap over him. It was rubbish and everyone knew it, but it was still a thoroughly entertaining tale.

"Is there anything you would like me to bring you from my trip?" asked Louis once the meal began to draw to a close. He usually made a point to buying gifts for them during his trading journeys. It was his way of compensating them for not killing each other while he was away. "Helene, what would you like?" He turned to his wild child.

"Just hurry back. I'm sure I'll have lots of stories to tell you when you return." Helene replied through a full mouth of bread.

"Cecile?" He asked his most stubborn daughter what she would like. "Don't worry about presents, father. We want you home safely as soon as possible. You're not as young and fit as you once were, you know."

"Certainly you must have a gift in mind, Renee." He looked to his little scholar. "Perhaps a new book? I think you've read everything we own three times by now."

"I have all the books I need for now." She replied softly. "All we ask is that you will travel safely." Most girls would jump at the chance to receive a gift, but in truth the three girls had no heart to ask for anything as they looked across the table at their elderly father. Their nights were now plagued with dreams of his loss and that night it would be Renee's turn to watch him be swallowed up. With the image of her father drowning in that inky presence still fresh in her mind, neither she nor any of the others had any heart to ask for trinkets. All they wanted was one more day with him there smiling and laughing with them.

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**Author's Note: I hope that you are enjoying this story so far. In the original tale of Beauty and the Beast, the sisters were described as very selfish and envious of Beauty and were never nice to her. However, I know of very few siblings who would hate each other to such an extreme. I have a brother myself. Yes, you may fight, but you still love your brother or sister unconditionally. The sisters, I think got a bad rap, so I aim to remedy that. In this story, it won't be clear (At least I hope not) who the "Beauty" character actually is. And if all goes well, you won't discover it until the last couple of chapters. As you may or may not already know, I have tons of stories already going on, so if you'd like to read more of "The Merchant's Daughters", please leave some encouragements in a review or PM. Please let me know which sister you are favoring at the moment. It may help in my selection of the true "Beauty." Think of it as a Beauty and the Beast version of the Bachelor!**

**Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or would simply like to discuss anything that happens in the story. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

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Renee lay in her bed sobbing uncontrollably. For the thousandth time, she'd watched helplessly as her father ran for his life. He screamed out for them, calling each of them by name. His grey eyes searched for them in the gloom of the stairwell. But he never found them and he never escaped. The living darkness dragged him in with jagged claws and he, her beloved father, became a part of it.

She turned onto her side. She clutched at her quilt, pulling it up to beneath her nose. Her tears drenched her pillow. She stared out through her lace veiled window. The sky was slowly lightening from pitch black to light lavender. Dawn was coming. She was thankful for its light for it chased away the darkness and the horrors that it hid.

There was a gentle rapping at the door. "Come in." She replied in a rough voice, knowing full well who it was.

Her sisters peaked through the doorway. When she didn't turn to look at them they knew it must have been bad. Helene and Cecile rushed in. Cecile sat at the edge of Renee's bed and rubbed her back, hoping to soothe her crying just as she had done when Renee was a little baby. Helene jumped into bed beside her. She pat her cheek and wiped the tears from her face, saying "It'll be alright. Don't cry Little Bookworm." Hearing the old nickname made Renee laugh and the tears momentarily stopped.

"It was awful." She said, her quiet voice muffled by her quilt. "He was calling to us for help but we never came."

Helene and Cecile shot each other despairing glances. "I know, dear," said Cecile. Her dream had been the same. She still cringed at the memory of it.

"It's like they're getting worse with each cycle." Helene thought aloud. She fidgeted with her hair, trying to hide her strong emotions. She was terrified of going to sleep that night. It would be her turn and if the pattern was to continue, it would be worse than what Renee had just endured. If only she could figure out a way to make the dreams stop. She'd do anything, slay any monster to make that happen and to give both herself and her sisters peace.

Cecile watched the fear in both her sisters' faces. She had seen it grow and intensify severely in just the last few months. She worried greatly for them. She knew that they would eventually lose their father. She wasn't sure what they'd do if something were to happen to him. She could only hope that they would not have to cross that burning bridge until much later in life. "Renee, would you like to come help me with breakfast? Father leaves for his trip today. I know he'd like to have a hearty meal before he sets out." She enticed the young girl out of bed with the promise of sweet honey, freshly baked bread and cured meats.

The girls tried to keep up their spirits that morning. They force fed their father and Helene told one of her stories. With some prodding, Renee chatted with him about her latest read. Cecile, who was usually too busy multitasking to eat a full meal, repressed her urges long enough to enjoy their company and even savor her own delicious cooking. All the while, they all prayed that he wouldn't notice how puffy and red Renee's eyes were.

Nothing however, could postpone his departure forever. Once he had eaten his fill and his cart had been loaded down with his newest wares, he kissed each of his daughters on their cheeks and promised them a swift return. Then he snapped the reigns and his team of red horses sped away. The girls waved goodbye until he was completely out of view. Then their smiles faded and their hearts fell into their feet. They looked at each other with eyes full of despair as a terrible feeling rushed over them all. Helene and Renee broke into tears and Cecile helplessly held them close to her as if they were her own children, letting them cry into her shoulders even though she felt like having a break down herself.

The first few stops on Louis' schedule went very well. He sold an abundance of products. His stock of fine embroidered gowns and patterned fabrics from Asia were especially popular and flew right off his cart. It wasn't until he left the second town that things took a turn for the worse.

In Cote Rouge, the third and last stop on his short trading trip, it rained endlessly. All his would-be customers wisely stayed indoors. His day at market was a complete bust. He left without having sold a single item. Feeling discouraged and depressed due to the rain, he decided to return home early. The trip had been more than lucrative. The trading he'd done in the first two towns had lined his pockets to the brim with gold. He could afford to shave a few days off his trip. The weather however, did not want to cooperate with him.

"What would be the fastest way to Des Bois from here?" He asked the wife of the Cote Rouge Inn's keeper the night of his failed market day.

The keeper's wife- a rather plain and plump thing- snapped back some directions, a little annoyed that he was already planning on leaving. The weather in Cote Rouge was notoriously bad so the inn stayed fairly deserted. "Truth be told, you should really go back the way you came, but there is an old road through Nece that you could take. It'll cut down your trip home by a full two days. But you're not really thinking of leaving tonight, are you?"

"I was, yes. I promised my daughters I'd come home as soon as possible." said Louis.

The woman scolded her toddler daughter for tugging at her skirt and hoisted the crying girl up to carry her around on her hip. She sighed in exasperation, batting her dark hair out of her face. "Sir, I would advise against that. Most people around here avoid going that way at night. It's dangerous."

"It's just a country road, isn't it? That area's nothing but farm land and forest. I find it hard to believe that highwaymen would be prowling that area."

"Well, maybe we're all just superstitious fools to you, but we firmly believe that fairies rule that place. Many of us have seen them with our own eyes. They say that there is a doorway there that leads into the Fairies' kingdom. You need only to get lost to find it. At night, fairies roam about, luring unsuspecting travelers away, never to be seen again."

The old merchant put no stock in the wife's warning, chalking it up to a bunch of superstitious rubbish. By the wee hours of the early morning, he was out in the middle of farmland, miles from any town. The night was blindingly dark and the rain had become a down pour. Poor Louis was soaked to the bone. Water saturated his wool cloak and sloshed off the brim of his hat as he drove his cart down a country road bordered by fields on either side. Only thick forest lay beyond the fields. "A miserable adventure this turned out to be." He sniffled, regretting his urgency. He shivered in his cloak as his mind drifted to thoughts of a warm hearth and full belly of Cecile's sweet pastries.

It was then that a flickering light caught his eye. He focused on it, squinted his eyes a bit. It was a person walking along the road. They carried a lit lantern that swayed to and fro in the storm's strong winds. "Who in the world could be fool enough to wander out here this time of night?" _Besides himself_, he thought to himself with a smirk. The figure stopped where it was and waited on him to pass. The closer he got, the more of this person was revealed to him. It was a woman, he noted, an ancient one. Her tiny, bent figure was wrapped in a shawl as dark as the night itself.

He stopped his cart beside her. "Are you lost, Madame?" He asked politely, wanting to aid her.

The old woman looked up at him with sparkling black eyes. A toothless grin stretched her mouth, forming even more wrinkles on her weathered face. "I do believe it is you who is lost, my dear man. You're a very long way from civilization." She chuckled darkly.

Louis looked around himself. The rain had suddenly lightened and he could see much further now. His heart sank at the view. The fields he had passed breaths ago had vanished. All around him, on every side were walls of forest. When he looked behind him in the direction he had come, he saw that the road simply disappeared a few feet back, turning from a clear dirt path to a thicket of tall grass that looked like it had never been cut. "What in the devil's name?" He breathed, his eyes wide with horror filled awe. That path had been as plain to see as the one that was before him now. He had ridden through it only seconds before.

"Oh, tis not the Devil's work, sir." The old hag laughed, her voice like wind passing through rusted pipes. "You have unknowingly trespassed onto Fay land. The Fairies are playing with your mind, making you see and believe in illusions."

"What are they trying to do?" asked the frightened merchant.

"They aim to drive you mad, tis all." She raised a bony finger and pointed down the clear path before him. "Continue down the path. Do not under any circumstances venture off of it. No matter what you see or hear, you must follow this road. If you don't, the Fay will tempt you to a very unpleasant fate. So long as you stay your current path, you will eventually be released back into the world of man and you may go about your business."

With a shaking hand, he tipped his hat to her. "Thank you, Madame. I truly appreciate your help. You are on Fay land as well, are you not? You may ride with me, if you like."

A bolt of lightning cracked overhead, lighting the woman's face. There were no whites in the hag's eyes, only an expanse of black with pinpoints of white dotted throughout that sparkled like the stars. "You are the only trespasser here." She said with a cackling laugh. She smiled again and her mouth was no longer toothless. It was filled with needles.

His heart racing with pure terror, he cracked his rains, urging his team into a run much too fast for his cart. His wares were jostled and thrown about, a few chests fell off of it all together, but Louis paid no mind to it. The walls of forests around him seemed to be squeezing in. They had once seemed so far away, but now they were on each side of the road, funneling him down it.

The chiming of bells heralded in orbs of light that streamed overhead like falling stars. Tiny beings with butterfly wings tugged at his cloak and bit at his face and hands with devilish fangs. Hulking men with bowed legs and flesh like rotting corpses emerged from the forest walls, riding the backs of impossibly large stags. They chased after the cart and banged clubs against its wheels while small spindly limbed brethren crawled over the horses and cut their harnesses. The horses ran off the moment they were freed and the cart, with its broken wheels, toppled onto its side, spilling its driver and all of his wares into the mud.

Louis lay gasping and bleeding on the ground. He had injured his left leg in the fall. It was probably broken. It hurt too much to move it. Helplessly, he watched as the bigger grey skinned monsters clubbed his horses to death and the smaller ones carried away his stock. The winged people continued to gnaw at his exposed skin, tearing the flesh away. _My daughters…_He thought miserably. _My daughters shall never see me again. The dream turned out to be a bad omen after all, I see. _

"Hey! What are you doing? Get away from here you!" The shouting of a youth stirred the old man from his filthy grave. He glanced up to see three boys standing on the road. The eldest of them couldn't have even been Renee's age. They ran at the grey skinned monsters, throwing stones at them, unafraid of the deadly clubs they still clutched in their hands. "Does your king know what you've done?" They shouted. "Go away!"

A few of the monsters shouted back at them in an odd, strangely beautiful language, but did not attack them. Instead, they left the last living horse behind and dragged the dead ones into the forest. The smaller ones scampered behind them, dragging chests of silver ware, pots and jewels and carrying bolts of linen over their narrow shoulders.

When they had gone, the children came over to him, walking through the forest on bare feet. "Poor man." They whispered amongst themselves. "The sprites got after 'em. He's been chewed to bits." A raven haired boy said.

The youngest boy, who had pretty white gold curls and a cherub like face, knelt by Louis and laid a hand over his nose and mouth, feeling for breath, "The old man's alive!" He exclaimed in surprise.

"Grab the horse!" The eldest boy ordered. "We'll take him to Armel. He'll know what to do." They loomed over him, until his vision began to dim. He had time enough to see more children, boys and girls alike, leap down from the trees to join his three rescuers before his eyes went completely blind. There had to be over a dozen of them, those wild, pretty children.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you so much for all of the reviews and encouragements. I'm so happy that you are enjoying the story so far. For Christmas, I thought I'd give you a double update as a thank you. Please continue reviewing and or/ commenting on the writing. Merry Christmas!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

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The lack of pain was the first thing Louis noticed when he awoke. The second thing was that he was not in his own bed, nor in an inn. He awoke instead in a gigantic bed that could fit his entire family in it at once and still have room for a few more. The head board and posts were carved with intricate swirls and embellishments. It was all of course gilded gold. The room itself was as large as his dining hall back at home. The walls were made up of cream colored panels, lined with moldings of gold leaflets. Solid gold furnishings filled the room and an absurd chandelier hung over head. The overall impression was that he had woken up in the King of France's palace in Versailles.

"Where in heaven am I?" He wondered aloud as he gingerly slipped from the bed. It was taller than he thought. When he landed on the hard wood floors, a shock wave shook through his bones. He found his clothing, now spotlessly clean, mended and pressed, laid out for him across a velvet lounge. He quickly dressed so that he may find and thank his host, whoever or whatever he may be.

Limping somewhat from his leap, he ventured out the room, into a long hallway. He was thankful for the plainness of it, though it seemed he had traded gaudy decoration for pure impenetrable darkness. The walls and floor seemed to have been painted black and there were no sconces on the walls. He tried to hold onto the wall next to him to help find his way, but his hands found only empty air. Frightened, he turned back to flee back into the bedroom, but the door was gone as well, just as the road had disappeared behind him the night before.

"Hello!" He called out in a quivering voice for the house's owner, but got no reply. He continued down the hall, running faster than he had in years.

The black hallway finally opened up to a foyer with another chandelier-this one seemingly made of deer antlers- precariously hanging overhead. The walls were lit a gruesome red by its light. Paintings of nude goddesses and Greek heroes hung on its walls in gold frames. The foyer led straight into a dining hall it seemed. He could just see the end of a long table laden with good smelling food and a warm hearth aglow with a roaring fire. "Hello! Is anyone home!" He called again and this time was rewarded with a reply.

"Good morning!" replied a man's voice in a cheerful tone from the dining hall. "Or should I say good afternoon." The man laughed pleasantly. "I was just sitting down to dinner. Please, come dine with me. You had such a trying night. I'm sure you must be starving."

"Thank you, My Lord. I cannot thank you enough." Louis' spirits instantly lifted. Perhaps those children had gotten him to safety outside of Fay territory. He walked swiftly towards the dining hall's doorway, only to be stopped at the threshold. His foot hung in the air mid-step and try as he might, he could not move it any further.

"Before you enter, I must ask you to prepare yourself, sir." The lord of the house began cautiously. Louis could still hear the sound of laughter in his voice, as if he found everything very amusing. "You are still in the land of the Fay and I will be a troubling sight to be sure. Tread carefully sir."

Panic seized him anew. The old crone on the road had warned him, hadn't she? If he wandered from the straight path, the Fay would lure him to an unpleasant end. _Those children,_ his mind raced with fright, _were they even human?_ _Was this the place that the Fay lead those poor, doomed travelers?_

Louis took a deep breath and took the final step into the room.

He shrieked like a girl at the first sight of it, the man -no creature- he'd been speaking to. Screaming, he tripped over his own feet and fell onto his backside. He scrambled into the corner and huddled there, terrified beyond words. The lord of this palace was no man at all, but a monster! It was dressed in men's clothing: navy breeches with gold embroidery down the leg and a billowy sleeved undershirt. A lace cravat was knotted around his throat. It had a very broad face with a flat nose and hazel eyes that twinkled with mischief. It was covered in shaggy brown fur and its wide smiling mouth showed the long fangs of a bear. It was very much like a bear it even had the long black nails on each thick finger. However, its proportions were still relatively manlike. Its face did not protrude into a snout. Rather, the bear's features had been mushed inward to fit a man's face. It was tall and broad shouldered with powerful musculature beneath the fabric of its clothes, but it was all still within human limits.

Had it just been a bear, Louis would not have been nearly so frightened. It was the fact that it still looked so human that was so frightening. A bear is a bear and a man is a man. Both are dangerous in their own rights. What do you get when you mix the two? A beast who's actions cannot be predicted.

The Beast's already present grin broadened, "I warned you, didn't I?" It asked. That charming voice sounded so bizarre coming from the creature's mouth. "Let me remind you that you've been here for several hours already. You were dead to the world that whole time. I could have easily eaten you then, but instead I saw to your wounds, put you in one of the best rooms here and am now trying to feed you. Had I known you would not be thankful for my courtesy, I would have told the children to put you back in your puddle." It picked up a wine glass with remarkable delicacy with its big hands and took a long sip. "Now will you join me for dinner at the table or would you prefer to eat your meal on the floor with my dogs?" The beast laughed.

Turning his head to the side, Louis came face to face with two wiry coated dogs who were happily panting as they sat by their food bowls filled with warm chicken. Here he was, a man, sitting on the floor with dogs while a beast sat sipping wine at the table. No wonder the thing couldn't stop laughing at him.

Louis unhappily took his place at the table. He stared at the delicious meal of chicken, roasted pork, various cheeses, and breads still hot from the oven. He couldn't bring himself to eat it, afraid that if he ate the food of the Fay world, he wouldn't be able to leave. Instead, he reserved himself to watching the Beast eat with surprising etiquette. You would think that it'd tear into the chicken or basted piglet with its bare hands and teeth, but instead it ate it just as a man would, albeit with more teeth showing as it chewed. He did notice that it only ate the meat. The bread, cheese, and fruit lay untouched on the table. It was scribbling something on a piece of parchment while it ate, not looking at him. Now and again, the dogs would trot by and it would pass pieces of its own dinner into their awaiting mouths beneath the table. "Where are the children now?" He asked when he could no longer bare the torture of staring at his food while it slowly turned ice cold.

"They've returned to their masters, I suppose." The beast answered, continuing to scribble. It glanced up from its work and must have seen the question in Louis' face. "The Fairies keep human children as pets sometimes. They were all either stolen from the cradle or were lost like you were. A couple of them were even sacrifices. Poor things. Right now they're little more than fashion accessories, but they'll grow up eventually. I do what I can for them, give them food, gifts and the like, and heal them when they're injured or sick. I suppose that's why they brought you to me."

"Ah, so you are the person they called Armel." Said Louis.

"That is my name; at least it is what the Fay call me." The Beast's smile softened a tad, "You're worried for the children. I take it you are a father yourself?"

Louis nodded. Memories of his girls growing up flashed through his vision. "I have three daughters. One of the boys that brought me to you was around my youngest's age."

The Beast's interest was noticeably perked the moment Louis said "daughters". He leant forward in his seat, disregarding his notes. "You have daughters. What are their names? What are they like? Are they pretty?" He asked one question after the other.

Louis fell silent. He stared at the Beast's disgustingly odd face. _It has human eyes._ He thought, grimacing at a wave of nausea. And what was that look on its face? It was like that of a child who'd just been told they were going to get a magnificent present, all wide eyed and flashing teeth. "I'd rather not speak of them now." He answered.

The Beast's grin reverted into a smirk and the light from the foyer flickered across its eyes. They became more animalistic and all the more frightening. It retreated back into its chair. "I see." It began. One of its dogs laid its head in its lap and whined as if trying to comfort it. The beast stroked its wiry head and watched Louis out of the corner of its eye. "You think that I'll somehow find your home and kill them? You wound me, sir." It chuckled. What were its lips pulled away from one of its long fangs. "That's awfully unfair. I've been nothing but kind to you. I was only curious. You may rest assured that I have every intention of returning you to your precious children safely. Once you are finished with your meal, I'll lead you out of Faerie myself."

Louis heard all of this and felt ashamed. The Beast had been very kind to him so far. If not for it and the children, those monsters would have killed him for sure. "I'm sorry. I suppose I have judged you unfairly. You must understand that you are…very frightening."

At this the Beast laughed. It was a big laugh from deep within its belly. Its whole body shook with it. "Why thank you, sir. I'm glad you think so. I would have thought something was wrong with you, had you blurted out all the details about your little girls. I'm certainly not to be trusted with such knowledge." Its human eyes glinted.

"May we leave now?" Louis asked once the Beast had finally stopped laughing at him and had returned to quietly scribbling on its paper. "I'd like to get back to my girls as soon as possible, if that's alright."

"What's with the rush?" It asked in mock despair. "Are you not enjoying my company? And you'd think I had the plague, the way you glare at me."

There was the laughter again. The Beast threw its head back as the laugh escaped its chest. Louis could count every sharp tooth in its head from clear across the table. The old man sighed in exasperation. He was beginning to think that his host was just as mad as it was ugly.

Once it had calmed itself, the Beast glanced at the full plate of food still sitting on Louis' end of the table. "You haven't even touched your food yet. Eat at least a little bit and then we'll leave. Your leg was badly broken last night. The bone was sticking straight through the skin and you lost a good amount of blood. You need to eat and regain your strength. Magic can't be expected to do all of the work. Oh, and you needn't worry about the food trapping you here. All that lies before you is from outside of Faerie. Fay food no longer sits right with me. Besides, if I wanted to keep you here, I've got magic that'll do that. I don't need any help from a pomegranate."

"You're a sorcerer?" Louis nearly chocked on the piece of bread he had just dared to put in his mouth. What had he gotten himself into? Not only had he trespassed into Faerie, but he'd found his way into the home of a magic user.

"I wouldn't say that." The Beast chuckled lowly and shrugged its bulky shoulders. "I barely know a handful of spells. You can't live for any amount of time with fairies and not learn a few of their secrets. Nothing useful, of course, mostly parlor tricks to amuse myself with. What healing magic I know, I was taught by the Goblin King. You ran into some of his subjects last night. I'm good friends with him and made sure to let him know about your trouble. Those goblins were trespassing themselves. You were very near to my castle and they are not supposed to travel this close to the edge of Faerie without their king's permission, which they did not have. I was able to get back some of your things, you'll be happy to know. Not all, but some."

"How long have you been living here? You speak as if you once lived elsewhere." asked Louis. If all the Beast could do were minor tricks then it must not have been there too awful long. Though, perhaps fairy magic was more difficult to learn than the Beast let on.

The Beast smiled wryly. "Longer than I'd like. They're a tiring bunch." Pushing back its chair, it stood from the table. Seeing it upright was a bit unnerving. It was a very powerful looking monster. "Please enjoy your meal. When you are ready to leave, you may find me by the front gate. I'll go ahead and prepare your horse. Lune. Cherie." It beckoned to the dogs. Its hounds leapt up at once and ran ahead of it out of the dining hall.

Once the Beast had been gone for a few minutes, Louis took his plate and scraped it all into the dogs' food bowls. He hated being so rude but the Beast's constant laughter had stripped him of his courage. In his experience, cut throats often hid their murderous intentions behind a friendly smile.

He noticed, just before leaving, that the Beast had left his paper and quill at the table. He made a point to walk around that end to see what it was that it'd been scribbling. When he saw what was on the paper, he scratched his head in confusion. He had expected perhaps orders to murder him or a spell. Instead, he found it to be nothing more than crude doodles of dogs and horses and one very unflattering drawing of a pudgy old man crouched on the floor, chewing on an old bone.

The door that led out of the castle was easily found back in the foyer, though Louis could have sworn it hadn't been there before. Opening it, he stepped out into a jungle that had little business being called a garden. At least it certainly wasn't the manicured lawns and topiary mazes that he was accustomed to seeing around most chateaus. There was no rhyme or reason to it. Things just grew wherever they wanted to. Apple trees grew in beds of pink pansies. Banana trees shot up in the corner, right beside a small grape orchard. A sunflower grew tall and pound by the doorway while its sister plants were clear across the yard, nowhere close to it. The grass grew to the knees and tall fern like plants sprouted everywhere. The air was sweet from the wide variety of flowers that grew there. And the jungle garden was bright and cheerful with their colors. Around the entire thing stood very tall stone walls that were nearly lost under mounds of dark green ivy.

The only sensible part of the garden was the cobblestone path that wound its way like a serpent through the thick plant life. At the end of the path was a single door made of colorful stained glass. The Beast knelt next to it on the walkway. The door was ajar and the head of a little girl peaked through it. The blond haired girl could have been no more than nine, yet a tiny baby wailed hungrily from a sling she wore.

The Beast was whispering something to the girl, making odd looking gestures as if it were trying to cast a spell on her. The girl nodded in understanding, smiling as the Beast spoke. The Beast plucked a peach off a nearby tree and gave it to her. Then the child disappeared back out the door.

The Beast got up, dusting off its knees, and turned to face its elder guest. "That was one of the Lost Children." It said, motioning a clawed hand towards the mosaic door. "She found another abandoned baby near the edge of Fairie. She wanted me to meet him." The Beast sighed and scratched its head. "I hope one of the Fairies takes him. He's one of the ugliest babies I've ever seen." Its eyes bulged dramatically. "I can see why he was abandoned."

The Beast laughed, indicating that the insensitive remark was intended to be a joke. Louis didn't find it funny and he was eager to get away from this weird place and it's equally weird master. He looked around for any sign of his horse. "Sir, where is my horse?" He asked.

The Beast's eyebrows shot up. "Ah! I knew there was something I was forgetting!" It turned on its heels and peeled off into the jungle.

Louis watched it leave with one of his eyebrows cocked, thinking to himself, _"That Beast is a very peculiar…whatever it is."_

* * *

**_Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the comments and encouragements! Please keep them coming if you'd like me to continue. :)_**


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